Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
The drive to where we’re going is long, and he forces me to drink a lot of water since we’re heading up high, but the trip is filled with Julian and me taking turns playing twenty questions, so it goes quick. He starts off asking random questions, like what my favorite color and food are. Then, he moves on to ones that require a bit more thinking, like where I would go if I could travel anywhere. And just before we arrive, he squeezes in a few deep questions, like if I see myself having kids one day.
Telling him that I love the color red and would kill for a good Hawaiian pizza was simple. Admitting that I would love to travel to Australia to see the huge spiders and kangaroos people talk about on social media was easy. But having to tell him that I’m afraid to have a family of my own was hard. So, instead, I deflected by saying I could barely keep a plant alive, let alone an entire human. We both laughed it off, but I didn’t ask him the same question, instead asking him something lighter.
When we arrive at the Haleakalā National Park gates, Julian pays, and we drive through. The drive continues as we ascend until we reach the summit parking.
“Put these on,” he says, handing me a hoodie and a beanie. I’m confused as to why until we get out and I see how chilly it is up here.
“We’re ten thousand feet up,” he says, grabbing something from the trunk of the rental.
When I look closer, I see it’s a picnic basket.
“We’re having a picnic?” I ask, looking around. “In the dark?”
“You’ll see. C’mon.”
We walk past the information center and head up a trail that leads to a rocky but steady area. Julian pulls a blanket out of the basket and drapes it over the ground so we can sit.
He pulls out two thermoses, which I quickly learn contain delicious coffee. Then, he wraps his arm around me, and I cuddle into his side. A few minutes later, just like magic, the sun begins to rise as we watch the darkness turn to light, exposing the most beautiful view that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Julian Parker might be my fake fiancé, but he’s doing a damn good job at creating very real memories.
chapter twenty-one
JULIAN
“Would it be completely unprofessional if I called out sick tomorrow?” Ana groans as we step through the door.
It’s been a long day of travel, and since it’s only Monday, we’re due back in the office tomorrow morning.
“Probably. But as your boss, I might be able to be persuaded to let you take the day off.”
I smirk at her, and she glares my way.
“Ha-ha. Very funny.” She rolls her luggage to the steps and is about to carry it up herself when I grab it from her and carry them both up.
She stops at her room, but I keep going with her luggage to my room.
“Um, hello? You passed my room,” she calls after me. “Did you forget where my room was?”
She tries to grab her luggage, but I step in front of it so she can’t get to it.
“What the hell are you doing, Julian?” she accuses. “I’m tired, and I need to unpack, shower, and get some sleep.”
“And you can do that,” I tell her, knowing damn well what I’m about to say next is going to have her flippin’ her shit. “In here.”
As my words sink in, her eyes widen, and her features morph from annoyed and exhausted to downright frightened.
“Julian,” she whispers, “what the hell are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. We just spent the past several nights in the same bed. There’s no way in hell I’m going back to sleeping without you.”
“All my stuff is in the other room.”
“That can be fixed.” I shrug. “But tomorrow because I’m exhausted too. I want to shower, fuck you in my bed, and then pass out with you next to me.”
“I’m not sharing a bed with you.”
“Why?”
“Because … because that’s too … much!”
“Red,” I deadpan, “I’ve been fucking you for days, in every hole, until we both passed out every night with you in my arms and your body wrapped around mine.”
She stares at me like I’ve grown two heads, completely speechless, so I use that moment to pick her up and carry her to the bathroom.
This is the moment when most couples would have a conversation. They would discuss what they were to each other, admit they’d fallen for each other, and slap a label on the relationship.
But with Ana, things need to be done differently. Laying a claim to her will send her ass running. Giving us a label will scare the hell out of her. She’ll question and second-guess everything.